Colorado’s First Cannabis Degree Program, South Dakota Heads Toward Legalization: Week in Review

This week, Colorado State University-Pueblo became the first university in the state to announce it will be offering a cannabis-related degree program. Meanwhile, South Dakota took another step toward hemp legalization when the state House of Representatives approved a bill to regulate growth, processing and transportation of the crop.

Here are the week’s top headlines you might have missed.

• National: More states are choosing to allow and regulate hemp, including CBD, in food, going directly against the FDA’s stance as the agency hustles to assemble regulations. Read more

• Colorado: The Colorado Department of Higher Education has approved the state’s first cannabis-related degree program, a Bachelor of Science in Cannabis Biology and Chemistry at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Students will have the option to pursue a track in natural products or analytical chemistry. Read more

• Florida: As state lawmakers consider two new bills that would ease some barriers to the hemp market, Florida Hemp Council Co-Founder Jeff Greene discusses what the bills could mean for farmers this upcoming growing season. Read more

• New York: Researchers from Cornell University have concluded that high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are a result of genetics, not—as commonly thought—as a stress response to growing conditions. Read more

• South Dakota: The South Dakota House has passed a hemp bill, signaling the latest step forward in the crop’s trudge toward legalization in the state. Read more

• Texas: A new scanner developed by a team in Texas A&M University’s Agrilife extension program can distinguish hemp from tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-rich cannabis instantly. Read more